Anti-abortion activists fired up in Washington march

Friday, January 27, 2017 - 01:46

Thousands of anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington on Friday for the 44th March for Life, celebrating a political shift in their favor with the election of President Donald Trump. Andy Sullivan reports.

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As they gathered for their annual rally in Washington D.C., abortion opponents confident that big victories lie ahead.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WENDY WRIGHT, PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST, SAYING:
"I fully expect that Trump is going to nominate someone who is pro-life. Overturning Roe [Roe vs. Wade] is just one aspect of it. There's much more that can and should be done to have a federal recognition that innocent human life - no matter what stage of life - should not be eliminated or killed."
Anti-abortion activists have rallied every January for the past 44 years to protest Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal nationwide.
This year, they've got some high profile supporters - Vice President Mike Pence, the first White House official ever to speak in person at the event. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway also addressing the crowd.
Unlike Pence, Trump doesn't have deep roots in the movement - until recently he was an abortion rights supporter. He changed his tune when he ran for president. Now he's promising to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and enact other restrictions.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ELLEN NIGHTINGALE, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER, SAYING:
"I hope that, as an administration, that he delivers on what the people want, and that he is very professional. And that we forgive him for his past and look to the future."
In recent years opponents have pushed through new restrictions in Republican-controlled states - Arkansas on Thursday becoming the latest red state to outlaw a particular abortion technique that is widely used to terminate pregnancies in the second trimester.
But Trump has the potential to really shake things up - he's expected to nominate a conservative to the Supreme Court next week, and he could make several more appointments in the next four years.
That could potentially shift the court sharply to the right, opening up the possibility that the court could overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to outlaw abortion entirely if they wish.

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